The American Cancer Society and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Launch 'Center for Tobacco Cessation Policy'

3/18/2002

From: Lisa Sabori of the American Cancer Society, 202-585-3202 Maureen Cozine of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 609-627-5937

WASHINGTON, March 18 -- The American Cancer Society and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced today the launch of the "Center for Tobacco Cessation" (CTC). The new center will serve as a one-of-a-kind clearinghouse on ways to help people quit smoking. Activities of the CTC will include providing practical, science-based research and information to smokers, health care providers, insurers and policy makers in order to increase demands for and delivery of effective tobacco cessation treatments.

"We have more ways to help smokers quit than ever before," said John R. Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society. "Quitting is never easy, but with effective treatment, it is possible. We know what works- research has demonstrated that drug treatment and counseling are effective and greatly increase the success of quitting. We also know that helping smokers to quit now will mean far fewer new cases of cancer and deaths from cancer by the year 2015."

There are over 45 million adult and six million youth tobacco users in this country. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, causing more than 430,000 deaths each year and is estimated to cost more than $50 billion each year in health care costs and another $50 billion each year in lost productivity. The mission of the CTC is to serve as a source of the best available science on cessation and to work with national partners to expand the use of effective tobacco dependence treatment and activities. The CTC will be a vital resource to health care providers, employers, health professionals and policy makers by providing them with concise information about the components of effective tobacco dependence treatment and new developments. The CTC will assist health and health care partner organizations to promote greater access to effective treatment and availability of insurance coverage for treatment.

"Seventy percent of smokers say they would like to quit; we believe this new center will help them succeed," said Steven A. Schroeder, president and CEO of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "We are pleased to partner with the American Cancer Society on this important initiative."

The CTC is headed by Linda A. Bailey, J.D., M.H.S. Prior to this position, Bailey was associate director of the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The CTC will actively engage and convene policy, science, and health care decision-makers and experts to address what we know about tobacco cessation and how we can do better in helping tobacco users quit," said Linda A. Bailey, the CTC's director.

About 10 million people in the United States have died from causes attributed to smoking, such as heart disease, emphysema, and other respiratory diseases, in the past 40 years. Men who smoke increase their risk of death from lung cancer by more than 22 times and from bronchitis and emphysema by nearly 10 times. Women who smoke increase their risk of dying from lung cancer by nearly 12 times and the risk of dying from bronchitis and emphysema by more than 10 times. Smoking triples the risk of dying from heart disease among middle-aged men and women.

The work of the CTC is supported by a two-year, $750,000 grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the American Cancer Society and an equal amount of support contributed by the Society.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, N.J., is the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care. It concentrates its grant-making in four goal areas: to assure that all Americans have access to basic health care at reasonable cost; to improve care and support for people with chronic health conditions; to promote healthy communities and lifestyles; and to reduce the personal, social and economic harm caused by substance abuse-tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs.

The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy and service.

For information about cancer, call toll-free anytime 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit the American Cancer Society website at www.cancer.org.